“20 years ago people were asking me to explain the offside rule while on-air,” Darke said. “I wouldn’t even dream of doing that now – the audience now is pretty educated about the game and it would be an insult to their intelligence.”

Darke will be joined in the commentary booth by Taylor Twellman during the United States’ matches at the World Cup. It’s a pairing generally well-received by television audiences in a time when fans are more educated – and critical – of soccer coverage on TV.

The Gus Johnson effect.

Gus Johnson is one of most-liked college basketball commentators currently on the air. He’s fiery, passionate, and knowledgeable. When Fox landed the 2018 and 2022 World Cup, along with UEFA Champions League coverage, the company decided Johnson was going to be the voice guiding fans during the telecast.

And people have lost their minds.

Listening to this game on the radio has been the most frustrating experience of my life. Gus Johnson is literally just screaming names.

Johnson, an admitted novice of the sport, has struggled to appease a harsh, critical soccer audience. While some of it is deserved, if Johnson had been given the gig a decade ago, no one would have batted an eye. American play-by-play voices from different sports calling soccer was the rule, not the exception.

But as soccer’s fan base has grown, it has also begun demanding higher level of commentary, production, and care from networks.

“If somebody asked me to commentate on college football or baseball, I’d say no,” Darke said. “Not because I don’t like those sports – I do – but because within 30 seconds of opening my mouth, people would realize that I don’t have enough knowledge about them.”

Darke and Taylor Twellman. (Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports)

“We’re not dumbing the game down for people.”

ESPN and NBC Sports have made conscious decisions to present the World Cup and the Barclays Premier League to fans in an educated manner – or perhaps more accurately – like every other sport the two networks broadcast.

“We’re not dumbing the game down for people,” Darke’s co-commentator Twellman said. “We don’t need to apologize for being soccer fans, and we owe it to fans to call the game the right way.”

The right way in Darke’s mind is to let the game speak for itself as much as he can. Unlike a game in the NFL, MLB, or NBA, a soccer match is continuous and there aren’t breaks in the play, which means there isn’t a need to fill dead air because there rarely is any.

“You’ll never be caned for what you don’t say, right? It’s always best to let the game speak for itself,” Darke said.

But Darke isn’t interested in trying to Europeanize the American television experience. If anything when he approaches a broadcast on ESPN, he’s looking for opportunities to let American influences come through.

“My general view of broadcasting in America is to respect the culture and how it is here,” Darke said. “I don’t think any of us should be sniffy, I don’t like that at all, the same way if an American was calling a match in England. You have to be culturally aware.”

(Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports)

The World Cup is (finally) in prime time.

For 16 years, the World Cup has been broadcast live at impossible hours for fans in the U.S. Who can forget waking up at 2:30 in the morning to watch the U.S. upset Portugal during the 2002 World Cup? Whether it be Paris, Munich, Seoul, or Johannesburg, the time difference made it near-impossible to enjoy the tournament on a regular schedule.

But now, the World Cup will be in prime time in Brazil, which is for the most part just an hour ahead of the East Coast. (Two of the locations are actually in the same time zone as the East Coast.) This time, soccer fans won’t be sleep deprived, and even the passing fan might tune in more frequently.

“I think with this World Cup, though we should be aware that there is a casual audience watching us, who wouldn’t watch it normally,” Darke said. “They are the people who are going to drive the figures up to the record ratings we hope to get for this tournament.”

Those casual fans are also the people Twellman hopes to win over, be it on-air or on Twitter before, during, and after games.

“I think I should be open with people on Twitter, and open to discussions,” Twellman said. “I full on expect not everyone to agree with what I say. I think that’s engaging, and the best part about soccer.”

One thing is certain, both Darke and Twellman realize the power of a World Cup airing at prime time in American homes, and both are eagerly awaiting the opportunity ahead.

“We’re in prime time – it’s a gift, it’s great timing,” Twellman said. “The most important thing is we tell the complete story, and I think ESPN is going to set the bar very high for how games should be called in the future after 2014.”

“I’m grateful that what we’ve done has gotten a great response,” Darke said. “And it’s interesting having the perspective of doing a game 20 years ago and to see how the game has grown now. It’s tremendous.”

A lot has changed for Ian Darke since he first called the World Cup for ESPN in 1994.

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